Shovel handle



Jan. 20, 1925- I I L523505 H; 1.. BASSETT SHOVEL HANDLE Filed Jan. 29. 1923 4 I N VEN TOR. i251/f/jif5/955575 Patented Jan. 20,- 1925.

matte HENRY LEE Bassn'r'r, or coLUMBUs, INDIANA.

SHOVEL HANDLE.

4 Application filed January 29, 1923. Serial No, 615,661.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY LEE Bnssnrr,

a citizen of the United States residing at.

Columbus, in the county of Bartholomew and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Shovel Handle, of which the following is a specification.

It isthe object of my invention to provide a satisfactory sheet-metal head for a D handle, which sheet-metal head with its grip will be an acceptable substitute for the wooden D-handle, has anon-turning grip, is rigid with the stale, two sheet-metal stampings which are preferably welded together at their stale-engaging parts to form atubular socket, and has the appearance as well asthe comfort of the wooden D-handle and is much stronger.

I am aware that many attempts have been made to make D-handle heads of sheetmetal, but these have been costly to make, or have not proved effective-in .use from the standpoint of wear and strength, and have not had the satisfactory feel obtained from the wooden D-handle.

By my invention, I largely if not wholly overcome these difliculties.

. The accompanying drawing illustrates my invention: Fig. 1 is an edge elevation of a handle embodying my invention, with a fragment of the stale; Fig. 2 is a front elevationyin partial section ontheline 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an elevation, from the inside, of one of the sectionsof my D -handle head, before it is welded to its'mate, and before the grip is inserted; Fig. 4 is a plan of the D-handle head, but with the grip in dotted lines: and Fig. 5 is a reduced plan of a blank sheet-metal stamping from which each section of my D-handle head may be made.

My D-handle head is made of two sheetmetal sections A'and B. These sections are identical, so that the complete D-handle head may be made by putting any two sections together. Each section is made as an integral sheet-metal stamping. from a blank such as shown in 5, which is suitably shaped on the press to form the final section.

The blank may be considered as formed of,

three parts, 10. 11'. and 12', all integral with each other. The lower part 10' is formed into asemi-tubular shell or halfsocket 10, of the proper size and shape to fit the upper end of the stale 13. This semitubular shell or half-socket 10 is preferably is made wholly of slightly conical or tapered, to fit on the corconcave upward and inward, with the two edges 14 of the blank-part 11' folded in' toward each other and in the same plane so' that they meet or substantially meet, and with the longitudinal middle part of the blank 11' curved into an arc-shaped crosssection, as is clear from the dotted lines at either end of Fig. 4. This makes the crosssection of the arm approximately D-shaped, with the fiat part inward and the curved part outward, and also serves to form a structure of great strength. In order further to strengthen this structure, the part 11' ofthe blank is made wider at its lower end, near the shell-forming part 10', so that the finished arm 11 will be both wider and much thicker near the stale than it is near the grip, as is the case with the wooden [D- handle.

The part 12 of the blank is in the general 'of the socket 12 toward the arm 11 so that it Is eccentric-with respect to the socket.

In assembling the device, two identical sections A and B are placed together with the edges of their half-round shells 1O abutting, to form a complete tubular socket for fitting on the upper end of the stale 13, both stale -end and shell preferably being tapered.

The abutting edges of the shells 1 0 and arms 11 are preferably butt-welded together; to form a seamless socket for the stale-end. This sooket is placed on the'end of the stale, preferably with a driving fit, and attached thereto by cross rivet 17, of which one is usually suflicient. When placing the two sections A andB together, and before such sections are Welded together, the two ends of a wooden grip 18 are placed in the two grip-sockets 12 of the two sections, which sockets are opposite each other. 18 is preferably shaped like the grip of a wooden D-handle, being in general round in cross-section, but relieved on' the under side,

'better grip; The upper surface of the grip preferably curves convexlyv from one socket to the other. The grip is ield from turning from its proper position in the grip-sockets 12 by a cross-pin 19 which extends lengthwise through an eccentric hole in the grip 18 and through the holes 16 in the bases of the sockets 12, with which holes 16 the hole in the grip is alined. The ends of the pin 19 are conveniently riveted to lock the structure together.

Preferably, to provide smooth surfaces, the grip 18 and'the stale 13 are both shoulde-red where they fit into their respective sockets, so that the outer surfaces of the socket will be flush with the outersurfaces of the woodenmembers which they receive.

In operation, this sheet-metal D-handle head acts and feels like a wooden D-handle. The grip 18 does not twist in the hand any more than does the integral grip'of a wooden D- handle. The arms 11 are properly shaped to stand the stresses to which they are subjected at difierent points; because they are of larger cross-section near the stale.-

than near the grip. The bent-over edges which form the inner surface of the arms 11 overlie the end surface of the stale 13, as is clear from Fig. 2, and may abut such end surface to assist in the transmission of force from the D-handle head to the stale; but such force is in the main transmitted by the tapered fit of thesocket onthe stale and by the shoulder 20 against which the end of the stale-receiving socket abuts, and by the cross rivets 17. The inner surfaces of the arms 11, by reason of this overlapping of.

' the bent-over edges 14 upon the end surface of the stale 13, form a smooth continuous curve over the stale-endfrom one socket 1 2 tothe other. I claim as my invention: ,1. A sheet-metal D-handle head, comprising two sections each made as a stamp mg of sheet-metal, each of said sectionsv comprising aycurved tubular arm provided at one end with a grip-socketandat the other end with a stale half-socket, said two parts being put together so that 'the edges of the stale half-sockets meet to form'a complete stale-socket and the two grip-sockets,

are opposed to each other. i

2; A sheet-metal D-handle head, comprising two sections each made as a stamp- ..ing of sheet-metal, each of said sections comprlsing a curved tubular arm provided at one end with a grip-socket and at the other;

end with'a stale half-socket, said two parts being put together so that the edges of the 'stale half-socketsmeet and are welded together at bothmeeting edges to form a complete seamless stale socket, and the two gripsoekets are opposed to each other.

3. A sheet-metal D'-handle head, comprising two sections each made as a stamping of sheet metal, each of said sections comprisin an arm provided at one end with a grip-soc -et and at the other end witha stale half-socket, said two sections being put together so that the stale half-sockets mate I and the grip-sockets oppose each other, thearm of each section being folded from sheet-metal to form a tube of substantially D-shaped cross section.

-4-. A she'etmetal D-handle head, comprising two sections each made as a stamping of sheet-metal, each of said sections comprising a tubular arm provided at one end with a grip-socket and at theother end with a stale half-socket, said two sections being put together so that the stale-sockets mate and the grip-sockets oppose each other, thearm. of each section being formed from a strip of sheet-metal with the edge portions bent toward each other into substantially thesame plane, said edge portions being arranged to overlie the upper end of the stale-socket to form a base for said stalesocket. a I

5. A sheet-metal D-handle head, formed with a stale socket, and. two tubular arms diverging from said stale-socket and provided at their other ends with opposed gripreceiving sockets, said arms being of tapering cross-section-largest near the stale-socket.

.6. A sheet-metal D-handle head, formed with a stale socket, and two tubular arms diverging from said. stale-socket and pro-1 vided at their other ends with opposed gripreceiving sockets, said arms being formed of 4 sheet-metal folded into D-shaped crosssection. with the longitudinal edges opposing each other along the inner face of the arm.

7. A sheet-metal D-handle head, formed with a stale socket, and two tubular 'arms diverging from said. stale-socket and provided at their other ends with opposed gripreceiving sockets, said arms being formed of sheet-metal folded into D-shaped cross-section with the longitudinal edges 0 posing each other along the inner face of t e arm, the cross-section of each arm being tapering with the largest cross-section close to the stale-socket.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Columbus, Indiana, this 24th day 'of January, A. D., one thousand nine hundred and twenty three.

HENRY LEEBASSETT. 

